Last year, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s original budget suggested that his state move away from “the Wisconsin idea,” a much admired philosophy about the state university and its relationship to all the people of Wisconsin. Walker, a Republican, blamed the resulting furor on a “drafting error” and pledged not to erase the Wisconsin idea. What is this idea that is so powerful that supporters rose up to defend it against a governor who otherwise has won many of the changes he sought for higher education?
Office of Strategic Communication